The Lord Jesus Christ is without personal ambition and we are to be just like Him in every detail.

The whole duty of each one of us is to fear God and keep His commandments. When we begin to strive to be rich, famous, successful, we are sinning. This is the third great branch of sin; and as long as we are bound by the need to prove we are important, or even worthy, in the eyes of people, we are not able to play—that is, to delight ourselves and be content in the Lord.

We are not obligated to prove to anyone except God that we are a worthwhile person.

"Jump off the roof. Prove you are the Son of God. Come down from the cross, King of Israel. Show us what you can do."

"You shall not test the Lord your God."

The Lord answered from Deuteronomy:

Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah. (Deuteronomy 6:16)

The reference is to Exodus.

And he called the place Massah  [Massah means testing] and Meribah  [Meribah means quarreling] because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?" (Exodus 17:7)

It is difficult to see the relationship between Jesus jumping from the roof of the Temple, and the Israelites complaining because they were thirsty. However, that relationship is the root meaning of the third branch of sin. It has to do with contentment in whatever state we find ourselves. It has to do with fearing God and keeping His commandments.

"Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." The Israelites went beyond this. They were not content with their state. They had seen the unprecedented miracles in Egypt. God had led them forth from their slavery. But they forgot all about the manifestation of God's Presence and wanted God to again prove His love and faithfulness.

The Lord Jesus had been placed by Satan on the roof of the Temple. No doubt this was a very hot, very uncomfortable place to be.

Satan tempted the Lord to do something about this ridiculous situation, to act rashly in order to deliver Himself. Instead the Lord kept looking to His Father for the solution. He feared God and kept His commandments. He was without personal ambition.

It is interesting to note that the hiding of the perfect power of the seven thunders, of the tenth chapter of the Book of Revelation, can also be traced to the waters of Meribah.

And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down." (Revelation 10:4)

Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah. (Psalms 81:7—KJV)

Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them." These were the waters of Meribah,  [Meribah means quarreling] where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD and where he showed himself holy among them. (Numbers 20:11-13)

Moses temporarily abandoned his meekness and acted presumptuously and rashly. Such behavior is sinful and Moses was sorely punished for this lapse.

To be continued.